Fear of a Black Hat (1993) Review

 Title: Fear of a Black Hat
Year: 1982
Director: Rusty Cundieff
Country: US
Language: English

Fear of a Black Hat (1993) is a mockumentary that makes fun of political hip-hop/rap movements like NWA and Public Enemy (the title being a take on their Fear of a Black Planet album). It's an attempt to be a more urban This is Spinal Tap, but unlike that picture this film misses the mark on its humor. 

Fear of a Black Hat chronicles the rise and fall of NWH, a not particularly talented--or particularly bright but always controversial--hip-hop group.

The "satire" presented to us is little more than lazily written dad jokes. "There's Iced Tea, Iced Box, Iced Water..."  I get it, every character is a slightly different variation of their real life counterpart. "This is Vanilla Sherbert!" Every scenario our characters are put in reinforce negative stereotypes instead of challenging or subverting our expectations. 

Weird Al could make a better point about the 90's rap industry in a 5 minute music video. Fear of a Black Hat lacks any depth or nuance; its message is muddled in a plot that often meanders and feels disjointed. I felt bored more often than I was amused. 

Fear of a Black Hat's reliance on using stereotypes to amuse its audience makes the picture feel immediately dated. I wanted to like this as much as I did other satires (see: The WeirdAl Story) but instead I found myself impatiently waiting for it to end. 

No Stars